Mile 1,885.6
Elevation 3,156 feet
Miles Hiked 7.1
I left Carter Notch Hut at 7:15 AM and headed to the Imp Shelter and Campsite. The weather was good. So far no rain since I have been hiking. Still, there was a lot of mud on the trail which is from all the rain they have had in New Hampshire and the heavy winter snow fall melt.
The three southbound hikers I met at the hut the night before had said the trail to Imp would be tough and while it was in no way easy, it wasn’t that bad or at least it wasn’t until… So I come to a sheer rock wall about 30 to 40 feet high. I had to go down it, but I could see no way to do it. It was very scary. Finally a couple of hikers approached from the opposite direction. They had no backpacks, so it was easy for them to climb up the rock wall. I watched and after they left, I started down. Having a 32 pound pack made this a very scary decent. The pack was already throwing my balance off. To get down, there were small crevices in the rock, which you had to hold onto and a few deformities in the rock for placing your feet. I made it down without killing myself, but I’m still not sure how. What I really should have done is drop my pack, but a drop that far would certainly have done some damage,
I continued down the trail and about two miles before the campsite, it started all over again. More rock walls to climb down, although nothing like the one mentioned above. My pace was glacial. I finally arrived at the campsite about 7:00 PM. A tent site was assigned to me by the caretaker and I setup, ate dinner and was in my sleeping bag by 8:00 PM.
By the way, have I mention the attack mosquitoes? The swarms are so thick you could reach out and grab a handful with one swipe. The 40% deet insect repellent seems to attract them more than repel them. UGH!
